Mail-box and support.



No. 730,806. PATENTED JUNE 9, 1903.

E. N. SWORD.

MAIL BOX AND SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. Z 0, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

6M dm/M v UNITED STATES ELISHA N. SWORD,

Patented June 9, 1903.

OF FIG, VIRGIN IA MAIL-BOX AND su PPO RT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 730,806, dated June 9,1903.

Application filed March 20, 1902. Serial No. 99,236. No model.)

To (all 1071 0777, it Uta/y concern;

Be it known that I, ELISHAN. SWORD,a citizen of the United States,residing at Fig, in the county of Lee and State of Virginia, haveinvented a new and useful Mail-Box and Support, of which the followingisa specification.

My invention relates to mail-boxes and their supports heretofore usedinconveniently near the roads or requiring the postman to use longcumbersome handles for the manipulation of the boxes, also to thecovers, hinges, locks, and signals of the boxes; and the objects of myinvention are, first, to secure and protect the con ents of the box;second, to alford a cheap hinge for lids and shutters; third, to adaptthe lock to the double purpose of looking and signaling; fourth, toprovide for the use of boxes and their supports, respectively, at aconvenient vertical and horizontal distance from the roads, and, fifth,to furnish means to attach, adjust, support, and operate the boxes andtheir appendages. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a detail perspectiveview of the entire device; Fig. 2, a rear view of the box with a part ofthe supporting-beam broken away and showing the combination of thehinges with a horizontal lid or shutter; Fig. 3, a rear view of a box,illustrating the preferred manner of attaching the hinges, locks, andstaples to a metallic box and lid. Fig. 4 is an edge view of the lockand signal-slide. Fig. 5 is a plan of the upper end of the post M andcontaining an end view of the beam K.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The projecting wooden lid A, having two or more strips Q Q nailed orfastened across its top to prevent suncupping and a groove or strips Von its under side around the outside of the top of the box B to preventwater leakage into the said box, is attached to the top of the rear ofthe said box or to the beam K, Fig. 1, by the staple-hinges O O,composed of two staples each, one staple of each hinge being passedthrough the back edge of the said lid and clenched or secured on theopposite side and the other staple through the former staple and into orthrough the rear side of the said box and clenched or secured as showninFig. 2. The wooden box B, of which the end of the beam K forms the rearside, is attached to the said beam by nails or otherwise, Figs. 1 and 2;but the box, made of wood or other material, of any size orsuitable formdesired, may be attached to the said beam by the bolts a a or otherwise,and when a metallic box and cover are used the cover may be fitted overthe edges of the box, and the hinges O G, hasp E, staples D, H H, I, andJ J maybe attached by such bolts as dcland e e in Fig. 3.

To secure and protect the contents of the box and dispense with thesignals now in use, a cheap lock for the double purpose of locking andsignaling is provided, in which the hasp E, bent outward at its bottom,is passed into or through the front edge of the lid A and clenched orotherwise secured and slitted, so as to admit the staple D, which beingpassed into or through the front of the box B and clenched or otherwisesecured admits the lock and signal-slide F. The slide F is slightlycurved sidewise throughout its length and is also curved edgewise, sothat its ends when the slide is in place will project downward andforward to prevent the looks from rubbing the box, to give itgreaterease of action as a lock-slide than that possessed by U- shapedfastening devices, and to adapt it to novel use as a signal-slide, whichadmits, through an aperture in each of its ends on differentsides of thestaple D, a padlock or other'suitable lock that cannot be drawn throughthe said staple. These loeks,arrangeable so that the postman andbox-owners on a. mail route can each use but a single key unlike thekeys of each other, are adapted to use as signals. Let a designated endof each signal-slide F on a mail route carry a common lock known as thepostmans lock, while the other lock is changeable at the option of itsimmediate owner. deposits mail in the box can draw one of the locks (saythe postmans) until it swings down to indicate the presence of mail. Theother lock, drawn by the operator until it swings down, indicates nomail in the box.

The staples J J, secured to the front edge of the lid A, are supportsfor weather-signal flags.

, The staples H H, holding chains or cords long enough to allow theoperation of the The party who slide F and attached one to each of thelocks G G to support the said slide and looks when the box is unlockedfor use, and the staple I, holding the cord S for lowering the said box,are secured the former to the front and the latter to the bottom of thesaid box. The eye Z in the beam K, placed so as to admit the pivot-pin Tthrough the mortise of the support L, secures the use of the box at anordinary height. port L, a post or other support secured to the sill Oor 'in the ground or otherwise, the beam K is secured by placing thepivot-pin T simultaneously into any one of the eyes a; m a; and mortisein the said support and any one of the eyes K K K in the said beam thatwill secure for the box a convenient vertical and horizontal distancefrom the road, the said beam, together with the said box, being renderedboth vertically and horizontally adjustable by the said eyes. The postM, secured to the sill O or in the ground or otherwise at'a convenientdistance from the support L, is provided in its rear with the eyes V VV, in any of which the pin N is placed, so as to catch and retain thesaid beam in position to hold the said box and its appendages in placefor convenient operation. In the mortise of the post M as a guide worksupward and downward as a lever on the pivotpin T in the support L as afulcrum, alternately elevating and lowering the box B and the weight \V,the beam K, having near its end opposite to its end to which the box isattached the weight W, attached by the suspender R in any one of theeyes K K K in the said beam (which eyes render the said weightadjustable) that will cause the said weight by its own depression toelevate the said box and the contents it will possibly receive. The eyesY Y Y in the front of the post M admit the pin P above the said beam tohold the box in an elevated position when not in use. The proper actionof the said beam is facilitated by giving its top edge a slightinclination to the. front and beveling the back of its top edge and thefront of its bottom edge where it passes through the mortise in the postM. At a convenient distance from the post-road and at or nearly at rightangles thereto is leveled and secured to the ground the sill 0, havingthe support L next to the road and the post M both secured to it. Thesaid sill is dispensed with by securing in the ground the said post andsupport, to which the beam K may be so adjusted and attached that thebox B when elevated will be above the heads of travelers over a pointat'or near the edge of the road. Thepin P having been left out theoperator lowers the box by pulling the cord S until the beam K catcheson the pin N, unlocks the lock designated, removes the slide F, opensthe box,

receives and deposits contents, relocks, sets to itself and itsappendages.

In the mortise of the sup the signals as indicated, moves the boxhorizontally until the said beam isfree from the pin N, and lets the boxrelevate.

The box being elevated and out of the way of travelers is not so apttobetampered with as a box at an ordinary height. Hence it gives greatersecurity not onlyto its contents, but If the beam K is of proper length,the support L may be at such a distance from the road as to cause nodanger or inconvenience to the traveling public. Nearly all of themachine can be homemade, and it is easily and quickly operated.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is-

1. The combination with a suitable support of a beam pivoted on saidsupport, a beamguiding post through which said beam projects, a weighton one 'end of said beam, a mail-box at the other end of saidbeam,'a'lid for said box, staples for hinging said cover on said box, anadjustable locking device for said lid adapted by its position toindicate whether or not mail is in the box, and a lowering-cordconnected to said box, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a suitable support of a beam pivoted on saidsupport, a weight at one end of said beam, a mail-box at the other endof said beam and a lowering-cord connected to said box, substantially asshown.

3. The combination with a mail-box of a beam having two or more eyes, K,K 850., a suitable support having two or more eyes X; a pivot-pinadapted to be used in either of said eyes, by which said beam is pivotedto said support; and a beam-guiding post having one or more eyes V, anda mortise or slit; whereby a mail-box is supported and renderedhorizontally and vertically adjustable,

substantially as described.

4. The combination with a suitable sill of a suitable support secured tosaid sill, a beamguiding post secured to saidsill, a beam pivoted onsaid support and projecting through said beam-guiding post, a weight onone end of said beam, a mail-box at the other end of said beam, and alowering-cord connected to said box, substantially as set forth.

- 5. The combination with a suitable support of a beam pivoted on saidsupport, a beamguiding post through which said beam projects, a weighton one end of said beam, a

mail-box at the other end of said beam, and I a lowering-cord connectedto said box, substan'tially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in' thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELISHA N. SWORD.

Witnesses:

ROBERT E. SWORD, DAVID W. LooKHART.

